Providing a ‘Pathway’ for immigrants
Awarded $2.5 million over seven years by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership will bring together researchers, government departments, and community partners from coast to coast to improve policies and practices that help attract, settle and integrate newcomers in communities across Canada – particularly in medium-sized and small cities and towns.
“We plan to equip community organizations and governments, including municipal governments, with the tools they need to devise and implement evidence-based strategies that promote inclusion, local development and economic and social sustainability,” said project founder Victoria Esses, a professor of Psychology and director of the Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations at Western.
The network of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners will involve itself in analyses of promising and effective practices as well as evaluative studies of policies and programs, with a view to driving innovation in the integration field. The network will also focus on the sustainability of Francophone minority communities and the particular challenges of Northern and remote communities.
Bringing word back from the field
Follow Classical Studies professors Elizabeth Greene and Alexander Meyer along with eight Western students as they explore the Roman settlement of Vindolanda, U.K., as part of the inaugural year of Western’s Vindolanda Field School.
This five-week program brings together archaeological and historical approaches to the subject of Roman Britain and frontier studies in order to investigate issues such as provincial life, Roman imperialism and identity in antiquity. Students will participate in daily excavations on the site of Vindolanda, a military fort and settlement on the Roman frontier in Britain, which has had a thriving excavation and research program run by The Vindolanda Trust for more than years.
Follow the team’s exploits at westernclassicalstudies.wordpress.com/.
PMA names new leadership team
Teaching and Learning Service’s Leslie Gloor Duncan will lead the university’s Professional and Managerial Association (PMA) after being named president, replacing Hospitality Service’s Jacqueline Hassall.
The Annual General Meeting of the PMA was held May 23 where long-serving member Debbie Acton was awarded the Nancy Kendall Award, recognizing exceptional service to the membership.
A full slate of officers for 2012-13 was also elected, including: Chris Thompson, first vice-president; Melanie Molnar, second vice-president; and Sean Wheatley, treasurer.
Ivey, CUPL team on new programs
The Richard Ivey School of Business Asia (Ivey Asia) and China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) announced recently a first-of-its-kind partnership that will provide Chinese executives with real-world, case-based learning of leadership and legal practices in international business.
The programs will leverage Ivey Asia’s unique academic position in case teaching to provide a practical, real-world learning experience. Utilizing Ivey’s globally recognized case library, participants will be placed in the shoes of decision-makers facing real life business issues in markets around the world. Ivey’s case-study method has proven to be highly effective in extending theory into real world understanding of international leadership practices and culture. Recognized as one of China’s top law schools, CUPL will enhance the programs providing case-based learning about the international legal framework impacting business in other parts of the world.
The announcement event on May 25 included a presentation on the need for leading organizations to develop efficient leaders who can operate globally and help expand China’s and Hong Kong’s economies. Speakers included Carol Stephenson, Richard Ivey School of Business dean, and Amit Chakma, Western president.
Matthews makes case to future doctors
Deb Matthews, Ontario’s minister of health and long-term care, was on campus last week to speak to a group of first- and second-year medical students, after receiving questions and invitations over Twitter to discuss her ministry’s ongoing struggle to reach an agreement on how proposed budget cuts will affect physician compensation in the province. Following an informative presentation, Matthews answered questions from students in Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, including the school’s Windsor Program, which joined the discussion via video chat.
Western heads West with success
Western boasts four of seven Emerging Artists at the 2012-13 season of the Calgary Opera.
Michael Marino, MMus’10, and Clarence Frazer, who studied voice at Western, return for a second year with the program; Lida Szkwarek, MMus’11, and Maureen Ferguson , BMus’10, will debut this year.
Each season, Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Development Program provides up to eight young singers with the opportunity to study and perform under a professional staff of teachers and performers. The program serves as a bridge between academic programs and the professional world of opera.
Automotive research gets direct injection
MONTREAL – Three Western-led projects targeting smarter systems, better materials and safer roadways are among projects benefiting from a $22 million investment by Canada’s automotive research program, the AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence. The funding will support 40 automotive R&D projects at Canadian universities in partnership with more than 100 public- and private-sector companies.
The $22 million will support the projects for two years and includes $10 million from the Government of Canada through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program. The remaining $12 million consists of contributions from Canada’s automotive sector, including numerous automakers, parts manufacturers and material suppliers.
Nearly 200 academic researchers will contribute to the 40 projects, which will also provide training opportunities to about 400 graduate students.
Western is contributing three projects from four researchers – Safe Driving in Older Adults, led by Health Sciences professor Janice Miller Polgar, along with Lakehead University professor Michel Bedard; Computational Tools for Magnesium Die-Casting, led by Engineering professor Jeffrey Wood; and Reliable and Secure Sensor Networks for Factory Automation, led by Engineering professors Xianbin Wang and Weiming Shen.
Truth and reconciliation commemoration set
Western will play host to It Matters to Us: A Dialogue Around Truth and Reconciliation, a commemoration event to mark the prime minister’s apology to survivors of the Indian Residential Schools that ultimately led to the creation of the Canadian Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Spearheaded by Western’s Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children, At^lohsa Native Family Healing Services and the Sisters of St. Joseph, the event is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Monday, June 11 at Althouse College.
Conference eyes change-makers
On Saturday, June 23, students in Western’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) will be hosting the first-ever FIMS Student Conference. The theme of the conference is Change-Makers: Innovation in the Information Community, and registration is open to all.
The one-day conference, sponsored by FIMS and the Master of Library and Information Science Student Council, runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in North Campus Building.
Garden grows green
The Friends of the Gardens raised $3,362.77 at its May 15 sale, which will be translated into three $1,000 undergraduate student bursaries. The Friends have some plants remaining, and will sell them 12-1 p.m. Thursdays throughout the summer at the B&G Courtyard until the group’s new shed and fenced areas are ready (just south of the lower greenhouses) in June.
They are also accepting donations of pots and trays. Leave donations inside the B&G Building’s loading dock area, labeled ‘For FOGs.’
Campus police earn international certification
Following a review from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) – examining all aspects of the campus police’s policy and procedures, management, operations and support services – Western’s Campus Community Police Service (CCPS) has received recertification. The force will be recognized in June at the IACLEA conference in Reno, Nev.
Originally certified in 2009 as the first, and still the only, Canadian university police or security force to receive the international accreditation, this reaccreditation will extend for another four years. Elgin Austen, CCPS director, gave credit to his staff for maintaining high standards. “They do a great job, which is a real bonus for the university,” Austen said.
Ivey reaches India milestone
NEW DELHI – Ivey Publishing passed more than 200 India-focused cases in its repository, making it the world’s largest collection of Indian case studies for national and global consumption.
Western gets ‘Googled’
While it could have been mistaken for an ice cream bike at first glance, it was, in fact, Google Maps with Street View working its way in and around campus this past week. Busy mapping a number of universities across Ontario this summer, Google employee Jonathan Chang peddled his way through the many twists and turns at Western, while fellow ‘Googler’ Julio Tang used a motorized vehicle to capture other parts of the more than 1,100-acre campus. Once the summer project is complete, anyone can simply click on maps.google.ca to explore Western through 360-degree street-level imagery.
